NOT A TOY recently released their self-titled EP and to celebrate we asked guitarist & producer Jeremy Marmor to tell us about the single "J Cash". Here is the story:
"J Cash" was our first single we released as Not A Toy. This single means so much to us because it was a song we wrote that we felt instantly excited about. It all started out with us sitting in our studio in the basement of our band house spitballing ideas on how to start a new song. I usually play electric guitar in the band but we thought it would be fun to try laying down some acoustic. I have a lot of southern blues influence in my playing so I started coming up with a mean southern style acoustic guitar riff that peaked our interest. It was a sound we had not yet explored. What really made this song come together though was the blending of genres. Once we had the acoustic riff recorded, we found that incorporating hiphop influenced drums made for a very unique combination.
The song has a nice blend of human feel (Acoustic guitar, raspy vocals, Violin, Saloon piano) and clean modern production (808s, synths, effects etc.) With all of these ingredients combined it made for an infectious hit. There is not another song out there that sounds like "J Cash" and that's why we love it so much.
Lyrically "J Cash" is kind of a cocky song. The tone of the instrumental felt very confident and forward so we wanted to match that lyrically. The song speaks about "making it as a band" and coming from making music in a basement together. We don't take ourselves too seriously but it felt fun to have an edgy song about being accomplished and on an upward path.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the band here
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